Unexpected Savior
by Rubyliday
Summary: When Miroku's life hangs in the balance, he finds an unexpected savior. Yoai
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Over the past six years the group that Miroku once traveled with had fallen apart. In the beginning it had been poor Shippo who had died in a heroic effort to save his adopted mother, Kagome. By jumping into the path of Naraku's razor sharp tentacles, he had meet his untimely death. It was a loss that the group couldn't bare, even Inuyasha had seemed upset.

After that, Kagome seemed to retreat into herself. Lingering longer on her trips back home, sleeping until the sun was almost at high noon, and even that feisty spark between her and Inuyasha was gone. It was her saddened heart and the distraction of Inuyasha by the corpse of his dead love, that was the killer combination that lead to her death only two years later.

While Inuyasha had been dodging Kikyo's powerful arrows, Kagome had joined the rest to fight against Naraku, Kagura, and Kanna. She would have landed more crucial blows and perhaps lived to see another day if it hadn't been for the image of the young kitsune that Kanna conjured in her mysterious mirror. At the time of her distraction Naraku had taken the opportunity to drive his clawed hand into Kagome's chest, pulling out the broken heart that lie within her ribcage.

When Inuyasha rushed to her side, it was then that he finally regretted choosing Kikyo over Kagome. It was also then that he made a vow to seek revenge for her.

He began gathering the jewel shards and using them on himself. He increased his speed, his strength, and even the power of the tetsusaiga. And just as is was said by the ones who loved him, Inuyasha changed. He began to need the Shikon jewel shards like he needed air to breath. It was this festering need that lead Inuyasha to kill Kirara and Sango. Deep down Miroku knew that it had been a plot of Naraku. The despicable man had known of Inuyasha's greed and had eagerly added wood to the fire by sending Kohaku.

Inuyasha's hunger for the jewel shard imbedded in Kohaku's back had sent him into an almost frantic rage. He had chased the young demon slayer away from the others, leaving deadly blows in the boys back when he could get close enough. When he finally had caught Kohaku, when he was finally ready to kill him with his already bloodied claws, it was then that Sango and Kirara had made it to the small clearing they where in.

Inuyasha had tried to explain to her, begged her to understand, but nothing could make Sango let her brother die. When his heart seemed to break even more, thinking that he would fail Kagome, it was then that his demon side began to take over and all sense of reality slipped from Inuyasha's mind. His first strike had actually been at Kirara, knowing that the nekomata yokai would fight to the death to save Sango, and that was how it was. He had killed Kirara with a powerful swipe from his claws, her lifeless body had fallen to the ground with a sickening thud. When he had finally rid himself of the catlike demon, he turned his blood red eyes on Sango.

She had fought him tooth and nail, just as he knew she would. His hardest task had been prying the Hirakotsu from her hands. After that it had been almost too easy for him to kill her. He knew all her 'tricks' and all of her moves, making it easy for him to dodge them or outwit her. After a half hour of fighting, Sango, slick with sweat and her face reddened with tears, had breathed in her last breath of air. Inuyasha had then made quick work of Kohaku, taking the shard from his back and placing it within the folds of his hikama to decided what to do with it later.

Miroku had walked into the bloody clearing far to late and with far to many regrets. From the corner of his eye he had seen a blur of red and then Inuyasha was gone. He had hear rumors of the man that he once called friend, heard stories of his ruthless raids on villages allover Japan. It seemed that without Kagome, Inuyasha had turned back into the man he had once been over fifty years before. Although he heard the rumors, he had never crossed Inuyasha's path, their last encounter had been that horrible day. As it was, Miroku hadn't seen Inuyasha in over a year.

He asked himself everyday after that, what if? What if he hadn't gone into town? What if he had been there to save them? So many questions and no answers. And now he was still here, still living while his friends and the woman he had loved lie cold and rotting in the ground. His tears had been spilt and his heart had somewhat been mended. But now he was faced with an even great challenge, an even bigger problem.

The wind tunnel in his right hand was getting bigger.

He had tried everything to stop the hole from spreading, but it seemed all the old remedies no longer worked. From fear that the wind tunnel would swallow him up at any moment, Miroku no longer used it. In the past few months he had traveled a lot, earning his living by 'exercising' a few evil spirits here and there. But little did Miroku know that his 'planned' death was closer than he knew.

_A short into to give you background on the time and what not._

_As always, tell me what you think.  
_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

The day had been a rather non-eventful one, the usual for Miroku. Instead of finding an inn or house to take shelter for the night, Miroku decided to sleep out under the stars. The weather had been warm all day and it spoke of a warm, comfortable night. But the main reason that Miroku preferred to sleep away from the villages was that he took his time away from everything to reflect on his life.

And his death.

Most times his thoughts brought him to tears and every time he cried, he made another vow that he would do something great to right his wrongs.

The clearing that he chose was almost three miles from the nearest village and a rocks throwing distance from where a small hot spring and a crick met. He had to give himself credit, it was the ideal spot. The trees had grown, in what seemed to be a perfect circle. This left a twenty foot clearing that was covered in a plush, spongy moss. The roots of one tree, that twisted, tangled, and jutted up from the ground, would provide Miroku with the perfect place to sleep for the night. The canopy that grew overhead, gapped in some places leaving little holes where the moon and stars, after dark, would be seen. Perfect.

After clearing away the moss in a small area and lining it with rocks, Miroku gathered wood and started a small fire. He had saved a small amount of meat from the last house he had 'exorcised' and skewered it to cook over the fire. When the meat was cooked to his liking, Miroku removed it for near the fire, careful not to burn his fingers. As he looked around the small clearing, his mind subconsciously put the people from his past, right in front of his eyes. To his left sat Sango, examining her Hirakotsu while playing with Kirara with her free hand. On the other side of the fire, Kagome and Inuyasha were in an intense argument, no doubt the result of Inuyasha picking on Shippo who now sat happily cradled against Kagome's breast. Miroku shook his head, the images of his friends fading into the night.

Although his mind was distracted, Miroku didn't miss the fact that the crickets had stopped their chirping and he no longer heard the animals rustling through the foliage. The peaceful feeling had long since gone and only a feeling of dread was left in its place. A small chill ran up Miroku's spin and he knew without a doubt that someone was close by, watching him. He lazily picked at the meat in his hand, his eyes all the while scanning the tree line of the clearing. He knew the watcher to be not far off, but for some reason he couldn't figure out exactly where the attack might come from. This left him with a huge disadvantage.

Before Miroku could pin point the watchers location, a figure lunged out from the bushes to Miroku's left. For a split second, he only saw burning violet eyes then the body slammed into his, pinning him to the ground and causing his head to slam against the forest floor. For a split second he noted the fact that the moss wasn't really that much of a cushion. Not so perfect.

Miroku opened his eyes again and blinked a few times to focus his vision. The sight before him robbed him of what little breath he had left and paralyzed his mind. All that Miroku could see were those dark purple eyes and from this close they not only burned, they glowed. And for what seemed like a lifetime the creature stared into Miroku's eyes and despite his position, Miroku felt something within him shift. After an eternity of staring, the creature closed its aubergine colored eyes, its nostrils flaring as he took in his sent. The creature moved away and Miroku could see that it was not so much a creature but not so much a man.

His wheat colored hair stuck out from his head at odd angles but came short of growing down around his chin. Miroku took it as a sign that the man crouched over him wasn't that old at all, that he might even be around the same age as him. The mouth that was parted ever so little, aside from being lined with a dark brown, was human but the nose that was sniffing its way along Miroku's neck was very feline. His nose and cheeks were spotted with brown freckles and his eyes were lined with the same dark brown as his lips. Miroku already knew that beneath the closed eyelids were stunning purple eyes. The rest of his body, or that which Miroku could see from his position, and that wasn't covered in dirt, was tinted a beautiful gold. The man's clothes were worn and ripped and hung off of his thin body, indicating that he hadn't eaten a decent meal in a long time. Miroku found it sad that the man was so thin; he would have been utterly breathtaking in top shape. Miroku's breath caught in his lungs when he realized that he hadn't just been sizing up his attacker, he had been admiring him. He would have shaken his head at the unusual brazenness, but his current position and situation left little to be done at the moment.

Miroku's senses became almost painfully acute after remembering the predicament he was in. He could hear the air rushing in and out of the attacker's nose, feel the razor sharp claws that were poised at his neck, and the weight that the beast settled on his chest seemed to crush his ribcage. He could hardly take in enough air so he wouldn't pass out let alone enough air to form words.

His fingers twitched, wishing to pry the man's fingers from his throat. His breathing was becoming more labored and his lungs burned. Surely, the demon above him didn't wish for his death this soon, but he wouldn't have bet his life on that. No longer able to resist himself and the fact that his vision was becoming blurred, Miroku raised his hand to the one wrapped so tightly around his neck. When the beasts gaze snapped back to his face, Miroku mouthed out one word.

_please._

The man looked at him as if really seeing him for the first time, as if having a man under his fingers was a shock to him. A minute ticked by, torture and a millennium to Miroku, and then the hand was removed.

The air rushed back into Miroku's lungs with a loud gasp and he turned on his side, coughing and gasping for more air. To inhale was painful, but not as painful as not having air at all.

The man sitting next to Miroku, his tormentor, sat with a look of shock still pinned to his face. He looked as if the reaction Miroku was having was completely odd. A thin boney finger snaked out and poked Miroku in the back. Finally able to breath, Miroku snapped at the man.

"You are not helping in the least! If It's money you want then I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have none. I have nothing else to offer you." the words were spoken with disgust dripping from every word. With a small noise that sounded like a gasp, the man pulled his finger back as if Miroku's very words had tried to bite it off. Still slightly light headed, Miroku pulled himself into a sitting position, facing the man that moments ago, could have ended his life.

Looking at the man from a different angle, Miroku saw that he was in fact smaller then he and the eyes that searched his face, seemed less threatening and more, scared. He looked thinner than he had first imagined and dirtier as well.

Miroku rubbed his sore throat and stood, noticing that the action caused the man in front of him to visibly flinch. He felt a small part of his heart go out for the man and when he noticed him eyeing the cooked food next to the fire, a feeling of empathy washed over him. He knew what it was like to go without food. Now that he was no longer with his traveling group, finding the next meal seemed like a journey in its own right at times. It was obvious that the man had smelled the cooking meat and out of hunger, had attacked.

His angry for the man completely gone, Miroku walked over to the fire pit, and turned back to face the man he once considered to be a threat.

"Whether it matters to you or not, my name is Miroku. And if you are willing to tell me your name, I will gladly share my meal with you." Miroku was once again pierced by the intense purple of the man's eyes and something inside him stirred again. Before he could put a finger on the feeling, the man blinked, breaking the stare and lowering his head. For a moment Miroku wondered if the man could actually understand him or if he could speak back. He knew of some youkai who couldn't actually converse with humans, either because they were never taught to or because their minds weren't developed enough.

He doubted this to be true or the man sitting in front of him. He always found the 'silent' ones to be demons in more of an animal form. He had never met a demon so human looking that could not speak human words.

"Kyoji. My name is Kyoji of the Yamamoto clan." Miroku nodded in agreement as well as satisfaction that his thoughts had been correct. Miroku had actually heard of the clan, but he knew little of them. Only a few things such as that they lived at the base of Mount Ishizuchi, which lie within the borders of the Western lands. It was also said that the leader of the Yamamoto clan had a strong alliance with the ruler of the Western lands, who gave them his protection and the use of his land. In addition, Miroku knew that the ruler of those lands was none other than Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha's older brother.

Miroku knew just as little about Sesshoumaru and even less about what his reaction to Inuyasha's recent rampage throughout Japan. Nevertheless, if he had to guess, he would have said that the static Taiyoukai didn't care at all. Though Miroku knew that if Inuyasha dared to step into the Western lands, his brother wouldn't hesitate in killing him. And rumor had it that Inuyasha was still alive.

A brief feeling of regret passed through his soul but he quickly squashed it and turned his attentions back to the man in front of him. Still slightly on guard, Miroku moved over to the fire and the meat beside it.

"To say that is a pleasure to meet you would be stretching the truth a bit, but none the less it's nice to have the company." Miroku didn't expect the man to spill his life story or even want to hear his own, but he hadn't lied when he said the company would be nice. It was true that he traveled away from the villages to be alone, but that was because the villages were so impersonal to him. He preferred the silence of the forest to the forced hospitality of each village he visited.

He returned next to the man holding the skewered meat, handed one of four to Kyoji, and took his seat on the other side of the fire.

"It's not the best there is but…" before he could finish his sentence, Kyoji has finished the meat and was licking his fingers with a renewed hunger. Stunned momentarily, Miroku handed another stick of meat to the man and watched him devour it just as fast as the first one. But still the hungry look shone is in his eyes and Miroku handed over the last portion of meat, his own. He knew that he would most likely be hungry before the night was over, but this man looked like he had gone weeks without a good meal.

Having finished the meat, Kyoji sat, a satisfied look on his face, licking each finger as if some amount of food was left on them. And for the life of him, Miroku couldn't tear his eyes away from the man. Each finger would disappear between a pair of full lips and come back out, glistening with saliva. The sucking sound traveled to Miroku's ears and he felt a tight pull in his stomach. He stared for what seemed like an eternity and his mind became blank, only focused on the actions of Kyoji.

Kyoji stared back at Miroku for a long while, having long finished licking his fingers clean, well as clean as they were going to get. Miroku had not noticed that he spoke, he just sat looking at him a weird lopsided grin on his face and it was slowly pissing Kyoji off. A scowl spread across Kyojis face and Miroku finally snapped out of it.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Kyoji let out a low growl, the scowl growing deeper.

"I asked if anything was wrong. Though you have already given me the answer." for good measure, Kyoji let out another short low growl and looked away from the man in front of him. He crossed his arms and leaned against the tangled roots behind him.

Miroku shook his head, clearing away the cobwebs and focusing on the conversation at hand. He didn't know what had come over him and he couldn't understand why his mind was venturing to the places that it was going. He looked around, looking at anything but Kyoji. He was actually embarrassed at the train of thoughts and he was absolutely not about to tell Kyoji what was actually bothering him. He let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

"Just a lot on my mind really." Kyoji seemed to accept the answer and turned his attention back to the fire in front of him.

Miroku became aware of how hot he felt and how his robes seemed to stick to his skin. He added it up to the traveling during the day as well as the events that had taken place only moments before. He looked towards the skies, seeing the glow of the sun just above the line of trees. The sun would set soon and although it would not get that much colder, he knew that the air would be cooler nonetheless. Moreover, his thoughts were only on the hot spring not far off. He rose once again, this time moving slower as not to frighten the man on the other side of the fire. He dusted of his robes and turned towards Kyoji.

"If you will excuse me, I wish to bath before the days warmth is lost to the night." Kyoji gave a small nod and Miroku took it as a chance to take his leave. He mentally kicked himself for thinking that he needed to tell him where he was going. In the end, it won out that is was polite to do so.

When Miroku reached the small hot spring he noticed that he could actually see the faint glow of the fire from when he stood. He smiled to himself once more and started to undress. When Miroku slipped off his inner robe, goose bumps ran up his body and he had the distinct feeling that he was being watched. He shivered and chalked the feeling up to the cooler air hitting his skin and set his inner robe on a rock with the other articles of clothing.

He sucked in his breath as his slipped his body into the warm water then let it out as a low pleasurable moan. The warmth soothed his aching muscles and calmed his nerves. He couldn't remember the last time that he had bathed in a hot spring and knew that all the luke warm baths, past and future, would never live up to this.

He sat listening to the forest sounds that had now returned and his mind became blank and hazy from the warmth. It slowly started to wander and it wandered to the man sitting at the fire. He wondered if he really should trust Kyoji, he had every reason not to. Though, after being released from the man's hold, he hadn't felt anything ominous or threatening. He knew he could trust his instincts, they had only led him astray a few times and each time a woman was involved. Kyoji seemed genuinely lost looking to him and Miroku knew that he had attacked because of the food, hell he should have expected it. Confidant on the fact that he no longer considered Kyoji a great threat, Miroku scrubbed himself as clean, well as clean as he could. He had to admit that along with missing Kagome immeasurable, he also miss the luxuries that she had brought from her time. His skin always seemed to feel dirty without her soap and his hair always felt unclean without her shampoo. He always had to admit that he loved when Sango had used the shampoo. His mind began to wander and old memories crept into his mind.

He thought about times, after the group had stopped at a hot spring to rest and bathe. Times when he would walk behind Sango and the scent of the shampoo would bathe him in the scent. If he thought about it hard enough, long enough, the smell came back to him. Lilac with a hint of vanilla.

Miroku let out a sigh and sank a little further into the water and his daydream. His daydream brought him back to traveling with the group. The path was unknown, but during their travels that was not uncommon. Kagome and Sango walked together a little ways in front of him. Shippo was clutched to Kagome's shoulder happily talking her ear off. From the corner of his mind's eye, Miroku saw Inuyasha. He was carrying Kagome's bike and complaining about it, saying something along the lines of her carrying her own weight. For awhile everything was normal and Miroku couldn't help but feel happy. But then the day dream because dark, the clouds rolled in. Then Shippo disappeared, no longer perched on Kagome's shoulder. But then the cheery girl herself was gone and Sango was traveling away from him at a dead run. When she turned back to look at him the tears were streaming down her face and a look of sure panic was plated to her face. Then she mouthed out one word.

_"Help."_

Miroku jerked from his daydream, the water splashing around his chest as he moved. He reached a dripping hand up to rub the back of his head, rubbing away the remains of the thoughts in his mind. He flinched a little, running a finger over the bump on the back of his head and his thoughts flickered momentarily to Kyoji. Miroku left out a sigh and turned his eyes to the ever darkening sky. The sun had fallen down below the tree line and he knew night was not far off. Miroku hesitated leaving the hot spring for a moment, knowing the air would be cool on his skin. He gave one last sigh and stepped from the water and made quick work of dressing.

Fully dressed, Miroku headed back towards the glow of the distant fire and the man there. He paused for a moment as a thought struck him. He had feed the man and then left him alone at his campsite. It wasn't the thought of his possessions that stopped him, simply because he had none, but the thought that gave him pause was that Kyoji might not be there when he returned. He wasn't exactly sure why the thought struck him the way it did so he shook his head once more and continued to the clearing.


End file.
